Author: Radha Vatsal
Genre: adult, historical fiction, mystery
Published: May 1, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
New York City, 1959
The Lusitania has just sunk, and headlines about a shooting at J.P. Morgan's mansion and the Great War are splashed across the front page of every newspaper. Capability "Kitty" Weeks would love nothing more than to report on the news of the day, but she's stuck writing about fashion and society gossip over on the Ladies' Page - until a man is murdered as a high society picnic on her beat.
Determined to prove herself as a journalist, Kitty finds herself plunged into the midst of a wartime conspiracy that threatens to derail the United States's attempt to remain neutral and to disrupt the privileged life she has always known.
RADHA VATSAL's A Front Page Affair is the first book in a highly anticipated series featuring rising journalism star Kitty Weeks.
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A Front Page Affair is a historical mystery told with a great deal of historical facts. Vatsal's words really brought me back in time!
A Front Page Affair is a historical mystery that had me glued to its pages from beginning to end. The setting was well explored, Kitty Weeks was well established and well developed, and the mystery thrilling (although a bit predictable).
Like other respectable papers, the Sentinel didn't allow women into the newsroom. [...] they couldn't be sent out at all hours and couldn't stand the strain of working under deadlines like men. - loc272, eARC
Kitty Weeks is a journalist. She writes for the Ladies' Page. When she was sent to attend an event which ended up being a crime scene, she took it as her chance to get into the news page. It's a big break for her especially during her time where in women are regarded as second class. I like exploring this time period when there's prejudice against women especially when the main character and acting detective is a woman. Just how cool is that? (yep, I've said the same line before :P).
A Front Page Affair did well on the historical aspect of the story. It's one of my favorite parts. I LOVE how it doesn't completely have to describe to me the scene. It doesn't tell you how everything completely look but how everything completely feel. Prominent events such as the sinking of the Lusitania and WWI were well explored and talked about. It gives you a nice pinch of knowledge about the events and how it shapes the society at that period. You can read a guest post by Vatsal explaining how she did her research and other related things.
she had promised herself that she would make the same mistake: she would never believe that she was part of something, or that she belonged somewhere , when she didn't. -loc950, eARC
The mystery did not just focus on the murder in hand, Vatsal delved on the personal life of Kitty. It added some thrill to the mystery. First thing, she's interviewing people close to the murdered; next thing we know she's intrigued by her father's life. Although there were generally two things being explored in here, the transitions were very smooth. Nothing's confusing.
A Front Page Affair isn't exactly the most riveting book I've read lately. It is thrilling to read. I have to admit that. There were times when I just can't put it down - I was so intrigued as to what might happen next. Yet there were those times when I'd just want things to end. Like, can we just move on with this and go to what's next? But that might just be me. Like I said, it's thrill but if I compare it to the recent mysteries I've read (since I've been reading a lot of them lately), this just can't be compared to them.
"You shouldn't let one individual's actions stop you." -loc2311, eARC
I had mixed feelings about the revelation as I was able to guess the culprit. I made a hunch in the beginning. I do that a lot but I usually fail when it comes to crime fictions. But here, I got it right. But it was thrilling all throughout the revelation anyway. It was a race against time and it was really exciting to read. You can have my word on that.
OVERALL, A Front Page Affair is a historical mystery with a well written setting. Vatsal brought me to the time period through the events, news talk, and people mentioned. Certain parts of the mystery was generally brought upon the time period as well which really gave the novel its historical atmosphere. The mystery usually dangles from thrilling to a bit lay low; from crime solving to developing Kitty's character. It's a nice read for historical mystery fan - a good pace (not exactly slow but exactly at the edge of your seat fast), a strong female main character, a well written and researched setting, and a strong mystery (although a bit predictable).
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| 3.5 |
~I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review~
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{ how about you }
Do you like historical mysteries? What time period would you like to read as a historical mystery? What do you like about historical mysteries?
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